Weight Loss...it's kinda like rocket science, but not!

Well folks, it’s “Weigh-In Wednesday” (cue the scary horror movie music here). Actually, I have good news to report…I am down, I am only down 2 lbs, but hey I am 2 lbs lighter than I was last week! The past week hasn’t been too bad, but I have decided that I am not meant to be a person who eats healthy and also works out, I just can’t seem to master both, although I continue to work at it. So last week was about food…I made this home-made salad dressing (Peanut/Lime, it was amazing) and so I had salads for lunch and dinner on most days, with other foods of course, I am not quite that hard core, but still pretty intense eating for me. Except last week I was really lazy in terms of exercise. It doesn’t help that it was cold out, so I didn’t want to get out for a walk, that’s really no excuse since I am still supporting my gym monthly, but whose side are you on?

This week; however, all of the stars have aligned and I have been eating healthy and exercising so next week we should see a bigger loss on the scale. The weather has been so perfect lately. I am actually hoping to hit the beach this week, laying in the sun has to be sort of an aerobic activity I think, I mean you definitely get sweaty sitting in the sun and sweating = calories burned so I am going to go with it. I will likely be nonexistent next week, be aware…if there’s no post next “Weigh-in Wednesday” it’s because I have lost so much weight that I no longer possess the ability to type. It’s a real thing…look it up!

I have been doing a lot of research lately about calories burned doing certain things, like shoveling the driveway or while watching tv for example, I think it needs a whole post to discuss because I think most of us are unaware of how athletic we really are. So stay tuned for that, but what I did read yesterday is that basically to maintain my weight I would have to eat over 2,500 calories a day. Now that’s not a challenge at all, but that’s pretty intense to think that I must have been eating beyond that every day if I was not only maintaining my weight but also gaining weight.

I realize this post is somewhat disjointed, sorry about that; I just have a lot of thoughts in my head that I want to get out. I read an article yesterday (yes I have been doing a lot of reading and researching lately…does that burn any calories?) that talked about the keys to success for people who have managed to lose a lot (i.e. 50 lbs or more) and maintain it and they all talked about the education part of it. I mean they also clearly talked about not being lethargic and eating foods that are natural and not created in a lab somewhere, but education was a big part of it. I would like to think that I am pretty educated on what to eat and what not to eat; I just chose to ignore what I knew. But I am now learning that although I may have had an understanding of what was good and what was bad; there is so much other information that is key to know if you want to lose weight. And now that I am able to make this more about science and logic, it’s making things a bit easier for me to understand.

I can make any food fit in the Canada's Food Guide...give me a real challenge!

Yet again I am starting off a blog apologizing for being a huge slacker...truth is though that I think I get more out of writing this blog than anyone would reading it, so I guess that's why I haven't been dying to get back at it, as I am only disappointing myself. Do I bother coming up with some lame excuse about how busy I have been washing my hair and fighting off boys with a stick? Nah...I will save you the digression. Truth is I have just been lazy (story of my life). The weird thing is that I haven't been lazy for real, but only virtually I guess. I have been exercising pretty regularly but have been lazy in terms of my computer time. What kind of Gen Y kid am I, right?

So that I am being completely honest, as much as I have been rather active lately (going for walks 3-4 times a week and lifting weights, doing abs etc in my apt) I had been (up until Monday) eating pretty shitty. I would be good for 1.5-2 meals a day but snacking was getting a bit out of control. Luckily, because of my newfound athleticism I managed to maintain my 21 lb weight loss, so I am clearly doing something right.

I had a moment of clarity though this past weekend that has set me straight again. I am a maid of honour in July and my dress will be coming in within the next few days, I was laying in bed the other night and I had a vision of myself in the dress and I looked uncannily like a sausage, so I figured it was Monday morning was as good a time as any to start eating right again. So I did and thus far it's been a pretty good week. I went to a movie screening last night and I had something from all four food groups... Grains - popcorn, Fruits & Veggies - corn tortilla chips and Swedish berries, Protein - cheese sauce and Dairy - cheese sauce. Other than this creative nutritional analysis I have been doing well, drinking 8 glasses of water a day, eating 4-6 fruits and veggies a day and choosing whole grains as often as possible.

I have scheduled an appointment with my dietitian (good old Stef) for next week to fully get back on track and figure out what eating plan is going to work best for me. We're going to be meeting every couple of weeks until I am back in the swing of things. I am looking forward to seeing her and returning to my old self-righteous, salad-eating self in no time at all!